Jade Lai of Creatures of Comfort Invites Us Over

Sometimes timing can be a funny thing. Just a couple days after we shot Creatures of Comfort founder Jade Lai in her New York home, the mother of one (Laz, 1) behind the beloved retail shop and label announced that she was shuttering the 9-year-old brand. While her decision to move on from Creatures (whose fans include everyone from Solange to Amy Poehler) were surely complex, her recent journey into motherhood might have been one of the factors. Below, take a peek into the Hong Kong-born mama’s New York City home and read up on her thoughts about motherhood, career, and more—all on the eve of what Jade is calling a “much deserved break.”

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"I live in Manhattan, on the boarder of Soho, Chinatown, and Nolita. It is a surprisingly quiet block in the bustling area. I bought this place 8 years ago, shortly after moving to New York. It's very close to the Creatures NY store (only 4 blocks away) and even closer to my studio (1.5 blocks away)."

"I think my home aesthetic is kind of California modern. Cozy and functional. I have a lot Eames furniture and some Memphis pieces. I collect a lot of tchotchkes when I travel, so there are sprinklings of that throughout the house."

"I think I am a collector at heart, so I have a lot of things! I don't have a real principle per se, but get things I think I cannot live without. I love beautiful objects of all genres. I have a large collection of textiles and books."

"His favorite thing right now are books, so we have books for him everywhere all over the house. We have a basket full of his toys in the living room and his new teepee is there, too. So yes, it's all over. But I guess I am okay with that for now."

"He mostly still sleeps with us. His room is currently still used as the guest room, where my mom comes stay with us a lot. We have most of his books and toys in the living room, where he usually hangs out. His uncle recently just got him the teepee, so he is really loving that."

"Everything! The rush of love I have for this human, and watching him learn new things every day. I definitely want to be a better human for him."

"The unspeakable. I just want to make sure he is able to grow up in a safe and kind environment."

"My mom used to always say, 'They are all the same when they are babies.' And to be honest I have always wanted a girl before I was pregnant and was a little bummed when I found out at 20 weeks I was having a boy. But I got over that quickly. Boys are still fun to dress! Ha! But seriously, I feel so fortunate to be Laz's mom. He is just so gentle, funny, smart, and happy."

"Always."

"I always like to say that everything is a perspective. For me, my pregnancy was great and I miss being pregnant. I felt like a glowing goddess. Yes, there were definitely periods when there were challenges, like the exhaustion like I had never felt before and nausea during the first trimester. I had the most horrible hives that hit me around 20 weeks for over a month, where my doctor thought I had scabies and I looked like a leper! But it all passed and I just focused on being healthy and what was best for growing this baby. I was pretty relaxed, drank occasionally, did yoga (regular and not prenatal) up until 2 weeks before Laz was born. I had an easy natural birth at a birthing center. He was born within 30 minutes of me arriving at the hospital!"

"I did not go to any extreme. But it is true that most books you read, people are so focused on the baby, what the baby needs, etc., and not really focused on the mother, whom, in most cases, went through one of the most traumatic experience of their life up until then and during childbirth. I remember my midwife showing me my placenta, which was the size of my head, and reminding me that I now had a scar that size in my uterus that needs to heal. For the first 2 weeks I was not to walk more than 2 blocks and carry anything heavier than the baby. I tried to have mellow food that was very nutritious and my mom, who was in town, made sure I ate no cold foods for that first month. I finally got out of the house after 3 weeks for a walk. I was so bored by then!"

"I had to go back to the studio about 5 and a half weeks after I gave birth, as we had our fashion show coming up the first week of September and Laz was born mid-July. Honestly, people from my studio started to come to my home for meetings 3 days after I got home from the hospital. Seth was able to take a month off of his work."

"It is Laz Tomi An. It's kind of a long story. Seth is Jewish, and he wanted to incorporate his family into Laz's name. L is from his mother's side, and Laz as in Lapis Lazuli, another semi precious stone. Tomi is after Tomi Ungerer, the illustrator who was friends with Seth's grandfather from his dad's side. And An is his Chinese name. I asked my dad to name Laz, as he had named all of my other siblings' children's Chinese names. An (which means peace and calm) popped into my head shortly after, but I never told anyone about it. When my dad finally came back with An, too, I knew it was meant to be!"

"Ready for a very long story? I have very fond memories of my childhood, although my upbringing might have been a little more 'alternative' than most. We traveled extensively and we had a big house in Hong Kong where my father kept exotic animals. Like, we had a bear for 12 years! We had a pool and spent a lot of time in the sun and swimming and just making up games and just had a lot of fun. My parents got divorced when I was pretty young, with my mom moving to another country, so I grew up mostly alongside my dad and my two bothers. My dad worked a lot, so we had different live-in nannies and, being in Hong Kong, maids, that raised us. I pretty much had free rein since a very young age. I went to boarding school in Seattle at 13, by my own choice, and then moved to L.A. at 15 when my older brother was going there to attend college. I had to learn to take care of myself, especially emotionally, at a very young age and grew up really quickly because of it. The teenage years were a little wild for me..."

"I want to allow Laz to develop at his own pace. I loved that I was allowed to get into trouble and learn from my mistakes. I don't want to take that away from him. I want him to be adventurous, or at least allowed to be, and be able to have a rich and fulfilled life."

"Yes, definitely. The Chinese culture is so rich, and he would be so lucky to learn if only a little bit of it. We celebrate Jewish holidays with his grandparents. I don't feel the need to push anything on him, but I would love for him to live in Hong Kong some summers when he is older and to learn the language and understand where I grew up. I also would love for him to learn more about other cultures, not just our own, as the world is getting more diverse, I want to make sure that he is open and kind and tolerant towards everyone."

"I guess maybe I am a little bit of a hippie mom. I let Laz explore as much as he wants, as long as he is safe and respectful of himself and others."

"The current political climate really saddens me. Don't people know that love perpetuates love? But in a way I think it solidifies who I feel I am at my core. With all this contrasting information out there, I just have to listen to my instinct as to what I think is the right thing to do. Very much like being a mother, in a way."

"I don't think I go by any real principles as far as parenting. I just go by what seems right and fair to me. We have a Michele Cohen baby book from our pediatrician that we flip through when we have a general question. But most of the time, I just talk to friends who have kids and see how they treat most situations. I have some really great people around me who are parents and great at sharing information. I also get Babycenter's newsletter that is a residual from my pregnancy and tells me the general development milestones. I like the Wonder Weeks app that tells me when Laz goes through development leaps and will get more fussy. I flipped through How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm, which talks about how there are many styles of raising children."

"Relax! Women have been doing it since the beginning of time."

"I think so."

"I guess I am pretty relaxed and casual, but also special and distinctive in how I carry myself."

"I am definitely more aware of what I wear now because I have to make sure I can wash it easily and also that it is breastfeeding-friendly. So, not a lot of dresses these days."

"I have a ton of Creatures of Comfort in my closet, for obvious reasons. Lots of perfect tees and pants, but I also love vintage, especially vintage sailor pants."

"When are those sneaker-sock things going away!?"

"I love my routine and there are certainly products that I can say I highly recommend. I don't wash my face vigorously, as I don't wear makeup. So, in the morning I sometimes splash water on my face and moisturize. My skin is getting drier as I am getting older, so I do a moisture as well as an oil sometimes. I love SK-II Facial Treatment Essence. I use it every time after I wash my face, morning and night. Then I use the Shiseido Concentrated Balancing Softener Lotion, it really dews my face up and keeps in the moisture. I love SkinCeuticals serums, I am using the C + AHA, which makes me look a little tanned and with a glowing complexion. Currently I am using a few different moisturizers—La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Creme, La Mer, and Biologique Recharche. Also, definitely an SPF. I love the Remede one. At night, I use Biologique Recherche Last VIP O2 cleanser, followed by the P50 Lotion, then SK-II again and SkinCeuticals serums and moisturizer, sometimes rose oil on top of all that. 3-4 times a week, I will do a mask, like a sheet mask or I love the rubber masks by Lindsay, they are so cheap, but really work. I also wear a sleeping mask twice a week to bed. I use the La Prairie one. I love the way it smells too. I also try to get a facial every 6 weeks or so. I go to Biologique Recherche in Paris 2-3 times a year and Rescue in NY other times."

"I haven't had a lot of time since being a mom to work out. I am trying to get back into yoga 2 times a week. I also get a lot of foot massages whenever I can sneak one it. I just love it!"

"Foot massages! Also sometimes I like to get up in the middle of the night like at 2am and read for a few hours."

"I am the owner and creative director of Creatures of Comfort. Creatures of Comfort started out as a multi-brand boutique in 2005 in Los Angeles. I opened the flagship in NYC in 2009 and launched the eponymous line."

"At the moment I can only say that I really need a much deserved break."

"My formative years were mainly in Hong Kong and Los Angeles. I studied fine arts and architecture at Otis College of Art in Los Angeles. After school, I was going to get my masters degree in architecture. Instead, I started working for a small designer in L.A. doing home renovations, which eventually lead me into the arts department of movies. Then I moved to Hong Kong to work for Esprit for about 10 months before deciding to move back to L.A. to open Creatures at 25."

"Motherhood has definitely make me want to be my best self. I realize I have a very limited amount of time and want to use it wisely."

"I have a full-time nanny, and my mom had been coming to stay with me whenever she can. She stayed with us for the first 5 months when Laz was first born, and I would fly her in (from Hong Kong) whenever I need to travel for work."

"I travel and try to see as much art as possible. Nature also really inspires me."

"For the next few months, I just want to really relax and recenter. Read as much as I can and see friends and family that I have neglected because of work. I plan on traveling to a few more continents before settling back to work."

"I love that there is so much diversity and culture in the city, people are so open and international here. Also, overall it is a relatively safe environment to raise children."

"Yes! I think about moving to London or Paris a lot."

"We try to go to the farmers market at Union Square every weekend. Whenever we have free time, we go to galleries and museums. I don't really go shopping so much in NY, but I love Dover Street Market and some vintage stores in Brooklyn. But I travel so much, so I love to just relax when I am home. Every few weeks we also get invited upstate to different friends' houses, and I really enjoy that. We are currently looking for a second home as well in the country."

For more on Jade and Creatures of Comfort, check out her Instagram feeds here and here. Creatures of Comfort is also currently 50% off site-wide.

1 comment

so sad to see COC shut their doors, but i know she will flourish in whatever she does! any idea who makes the mounted shelving system she has in her living room? we are having trouble finding one strong enough for our books :)